"A straw man argument is one based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position. To 'set up a straw man' or 'set up a straw man argument' is to describe a position that superficially resembles an opponent's actual view but is easier to refute, then attribute that position to the opponent."

You've set out making your latest work with the intention to speak your piece on some contested issue, but you've found it's harder than you expected. You have to write both sides of the issue, after all, and that means fairly representing the other side of the argument. What if you're not entirely clear on what the other side is?

Simple: declare war on straw! You're the writer, aren't you? You control what the "other side" has to say. All you need to do is present the opposing position as a laughable shadow of its former self and you can easily knock it over. You'll always be the winner! Everybody loves a winner. Bonus points if the opposing side is violently murdered afterwards (with the killer never being punished, naturally, because why would you ever punish someone who's right?).

Sometimes the existence of non-corrupt/wrong/amoral versions is acknowledged in the setting to indicate that there's no hard feelings; on the other hand, sometimes those good versions are really a Fox News Liberal used to try to make an actual strawman less obvious.

It is also important to note that caricature, itself, can be a perfectly valid way to make an argument; Voltaire, Swift, and many other writers have used it effectively and incisively against their opponents. The distinction is that valid caricatures use exaggeration and hyperbole as rhetorical devices to present nonetheless legitimate arguments, exposing the victim's failings and flaws without misrepresenting them. But the line between the two can be extremely thin, especially in unskilled hands or when the author does not truly understand what they are trying to caricature; many authors have produced strawmen that were painfully obvious to others while believing themselves to be penning biting Swiftian satire.

For more detail about the fallacy upon which this series of tropes is named, see Strawman Fallacy.

The flip side (where a position is so off-the-wall that it's impossible to distinguish between a genuine statement and an exaggeration/parody) is Poe's Law. The actual inverse is sometimes referred to as "Steelmanning," where a debater attacks the strongest possible interpretation of their opponent's argument, even if it is not the argument they necessarily made. This is often used against evasive "guerrilla debaters" who attempt to avoid actually presenting their own arguments, in the hope of constantly taking shots at their opponent without having to defend their own position.

When you fought the straw and the straw won (in the opinion of your readers/viewers), it's Strawman Has a Point.

The War On Straw has many fronts; among them are:

Agent Scully: Used to portray skeptics, scientists and other people who don't believe in god(s)/magic/the paranormal/as closed-minded and dogmatic.

The Aggressive Drug Dealer: The writer demonizes drug dealers, and even advocates, portraying them as monsters who want to get your children addicted, through intimidation or violence if necessary.

Designated Evil: The writer decides that a character's action is bad without much thought as to why.

Designated Hero: Happens when the character we're expected to side with fails to give reasons why we should think he's right.

Designated Villain: The only reason this character is demonized is because they disagreed with the protagonist.

Dry Crusader: When this character is in the right, everyone who drinks alcohol is considered to be worse than the Devil. Can also be used to assume that anyone who refrains from alcohol acts this way towards drinkers.

Easy Evangelism: The strawman has never considered the opposing view and immediately converts once they hear an explanation.

Scare 'em Straight: Things that the writer opposes are portrayed as having horrible consequences if one does/associates with them.

Straw Affiliation: In the same vein as Category Traitor, people who are a part of a certain group are portrayed as not being allowed to endorse things that are typically not associated with them(e.g. gays and women can't be conservative).

Straw Character: They exist for one reason and one reason only, to be proven wrong.

Straw Civilian: In a military focused work, any and all non-military characters are shown as being actively hostile towards soldiers.

Straw Critic: Media critics are portrayed as snooty and uptight. Often used by writers who can't take criticism.

This Loser Is You: A negatively portrayed protagonist meant to represent the audience. Not always a strawman, but it can often come off that way if the writer assumes too much about their audience.

Too Incompetent to Operate a Blanket: In order to make a product appealing, advertisers portray people who aren't using the product as incompetent morons who can't even do the simplest tasks without it.

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